Amy Schumer's Swimsuit Cover Has Nothing To Do With A 'Fat' Agenda

Amy Schumer, pictured here with actress Leslie Mann, recently appeared on the cover of InStyle magazine. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for the Critics' Choice Awards)

OK. You may like comedian Amy Schumer. Or you may dislike her. You may find her attractive. Or unattractive. Or neutral. Or maybe you are asking, "Who is Amy Schumer?" Regardless, her appearance on the cover of In Style magazine in a swimsuit is not part of "the media and publications trying to push the FAT agenda", as Dana Duggan, the designer and owner of SouthShore Swimwear, has claimed. Folks, there's no fat agenda that I'm aware of among the media. In fact, claiming a "fat" agenda, whatever that may be, detracts from the real obesity epidemic and its real causes.

Here's what happened:

Yes, Schumer had the gall to appear on the cover of a magazine in a swimsuit. Duggan then responded in the InStyle Instagram comments section: “Come on now! You could not find anyone better for this cover? Not everyone should be in a swimsuit.” Apparently, Duggan doesn't want everyone to wear a swimsuit even though she is a swimsuit designer? What? That's like a shampoo manufacturer telling people not to wash their hair. And what exactly are you supposed to wear if you want to go swimming? A tuxedo?

Expectedly, others pushed back...which is what happens when you say that "not everyone should [fill in the blank]." Duggan continued that Schumer looks “like a pig” and so forth. Then, as Jamie Feldman related for the Huffington Post, Duggan said:

I appreciate the free press. It’s called Freedom of Speech... I can have my opinion and you can have yours. I’m tired of the media and publications trying to push the FAT agenda. It’s not healthy and it’s not pretty. What is wrong with featuring healthy and fit cover models?

So, Duggan seems upset about being shamed for shaming others. Remember Duggan started the whole insult volley. The magazine cover did not insult her. If you dish it out, you have to be able to take it.

Does the entertainment industry have an agenda about pushing certain looks and appearances? Certainly. Attractiveness is subjective. Those who produce movies, television shows and advertising choose and push the looks that they like...or those who look like themselves. That's why the range and diversity of looks in entertainment are so limited. That's why you don't see certain types of women. That's why Black and Latino male romantic leads are rarer and Native American and Asian American male romantic leads are practically non-existent in movies and television. But a "fat" agenda? Come on. What exactly would be the rationale behind a "fat" agenda?

Duggan's comments illustrate major misconceptions about obesity and being overweight that are hindering our ability as a society to properly address the obesity epidemic such as:

People are overweight because they are complacent and don't care. Uh, you don't hear people saying, "I'm overweight and that's great." In fact, as Racheal Schultz wrote for Shape magazine, a survey found that 89% of American women are unhappy with their weight.

Weight is a simple problem.

Body shaming gets people to shape up. Isn't it a shame that shaming doesn't really work? Otherwise, wouldn't life be so easy? You could simply shame people when they lie, steal from others or kill so that they won't do it anymore. If anything, shaming may do the opposite: make people so despondent so that they find it harder to lose weight.

Insulting potential customers is usually not good business, unless you are Triumph, the insult comic dog, or want to be popular in high school or settings of similar maturity. Duggan's comments may cause her to lose some customers. But who knows...perhaps she has an agenda behind her comments...an agenda behind her claiming that there is a fat agenda.

I’ve been in the worlds of business, medicine, and global and public health. And these worlds are a lot more similar and different than you think. Currently, I am an Associate Professor of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Executiv...